Who speaks for God? An Exposition of Romans 1:1-2

Augustine, in the 4th century; Martin Luther, in the 16th century; John Wesley, in the 18th century: What do these famous names from church history have in common? To a man, they were converted to faith in Christ through their reading or study or hearing of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. In Romans, no doubt, we have the most complete and systematic exposition of the message of the Gospel of Christ – the “good news” of the righteousness which is from God, and is by faith, from first to last. Martin Luther described the aim of this letter in these words: “The chief purpose of this letter is to break down, to pluck up, and to destroy all wisdom & righteousness of the flesh [that is, all human wisdom & righteousness]…. God does not want to redeem us through our own [imagined righteousness], but through [a righteousness] that comes to us from the outside; not through one that originates here on earth, but through one that comes from heaven. Therefore, we must be taught a righteousness that comes completely from the outside and is foreign.” Every human religion lays the burden of gaining a right standing before God squarely on our shoulders; Romans demolishes that pretense and that unbearable burden. It reveals the true, heavenly religion of the Gospel, which proclaims a righteousness from God, through Christ, which is received by faith alone. And it answers the question no other contrived religion can: How can God remain perfectly just, and yet freely justify the one who has faith in Jesus? The Epistle to the Romans also extensively works out the kind of new life the Gospel produces; the question of Israel & the Gospel; and how the Gospel shapes the lives we live in this world, and with one another in the church.

And so in vv 1-2 of chapter one, Paul introduces his credentials as the apostolic messenger of this Gospel; and he introduces the source of this apostolic message. So what are the credentials of this apostolic messenger? And why is this important to establish – not only for the first recipients, but also for us as the church today? Let’s look at verse 1.

Paul identifies himself as “a bondservant of Jesus Christ;” as one who is “called to be an apostle;” and as one “separated to the gospel of God.”  When Paul identifies himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ, we might be tempted to assume that Paul is being humble. Now it is true that a bondservant is one who can claim no rights for himself. He’s entirely at the disposal of his master. And certainly that’s true of Paul, and his service of his master, Jesus Christ.

But Paul, by calling himself a “bondservant,” is also placing himself in some very important company, Old Testament company, the company of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, the prophets – and David. All of these are described at various points in the Greek translation of the OT – the one used by Paul and the apostolic churches – with this same expression, “bondservants.” So Paul is not simply being humble here. He is making a claim to having a unique servant relationship to God – by which he is authorized to speak for God.

And because Paul invokes this credential in this way – a bondservant of Jesus Christ – he shows us something else we don’t want to miss: something else that is, in fact, an indispensable part of his message. In the OT, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets – are all called servants of the LORD – of Yahweh, of the one, true, sovereign God. So Paul clearly implies that Jesus Christ has divine power and glory – He is Paul’s sovereign Master, and authorizes Paul as His servant to speak His Word, the very Word of God.

Next, Paul introduces himself with a second credential: as one who is “called to be an apostle.” Now Paul did not check the “help wanted” ads of The New Jerusalem Times, and apply for the job of an apostle. The Sovereign One, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, took the initiative and called Paul – this zealous Pharisee who was persecuting Jesus by persecuting His church. You may remember the encounter they had, when the risen Christ appeared & quite literally knocked Paul off his high horse on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9. The Lord then appears to another disciple in Damascus, Ananias, and reveals that Paul will be His chosen vessel to bear the name of Christ before the Gentiles, and the children of Israel; and that Paul will suffer for the sake of His Name as well.

An “apostle” is a sent-one, an emissary – bearing the authority of the One who sent him. The apostles of the New Testament, according to Ephesians 2, verse 20, serve as the foundation of the church, with Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. They authoritatively proclaim the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And we must note carefully: they are also the God-authorized, Spirit-inspired interpreters of the OT – as we’ll soon see, they declare how Christ fulfills the promises & expectations of the OT. And their message is now for us, the authoritative Word of God written, in the New Testament.

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle” – and now his third credential – “separated to the Gospel of God.” This elaborates his second credential. The language of separation is the language of consecration in the Bible – of things being set apart by God for His holy purpose. In the OT, the LORD says of Israel in Lev 20, verse 26: “And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” Israel was separated, consecrated from the nations, to be God’s holy people. Paul is separated, consecrated to the Gospel of God, as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Note, it is the Gospel of God to which Paul has been consecrated. It is the Gospel, the good news. Now this word has an OT context. In Psalm 40, verse 9, David – speaking as a foreshadowing of Christ – says: “I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly.” In Psalm 96, verse 2, we are commanded to: “Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.” The prophet Isaiah preaches the gospel yet to come: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” – Is 52, verse 7. Paul, later in Romans, will speak of his own beautiful feet – and the beautiful feet of all those who are sent by God to proclaim His Gospel.

It is the Gospel of God. It belongs to Him. It is from Him. It is His message of good news about how He graciously saves sinners from His own just anger against them. And so Paul presents his three-fold credentials: a bondservant of Christ; an apostle called by Christ; consecrated to proclaim God’s good news – which is His power for the salvation of everyone who believes; His power to rescue us from the terrifying danger of His own eternal judgment which we deserve for our rebellion against Him. Paul will lay out that glorious Gospel for us in the coming chapters.

But why are Paul’s apostolic credentials important – not only to the church of Rome, who probably received this letter sometime between 55 and 57 AD? Why are Paul’s apostolic credentials important to us, today, as the church of the 21st century?

Let me ask a few more questions: Who speaks for God today? And where do we hear His voice? Of course, the classic Roman Catholic answer to that is the Pope speaks for God today; we hear God’s voice in the Scriptures as interpreted by the Church; and in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church; and whenever the Pope speaks ex cathedra as the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Martin Luther said something interesting during a tumultuous period of the 16th century Protestant reformation. Some radical Anabaptist groups were breaking away from the mainstream of the Protestant reformation, and were claiming to receive direct revelations from God. They said they spoke for God with divine authority. Luther said: “The only thing worse than one pope, is a thousand popes.”

Well, in America today, we might say: the only thing worse than one pope is millions of popes – millions of self-appointed spiritual authorities, who claim their own connection to God, on their own terms. Newsweek recently had several feature articles on “Spirituality in America.”  24% of those surveyed describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.” So what defines “spirituality” for these folks? Well, of course, it has to be self-defined. On what authority do they practice their spirituality? Their own, I suppose – self-defined, self-appointed spiritual authorities. (By the way, I used to be one. Perhaps you were, too.)

Now this isn’t surprising, of course. Ezekiel 14 tells us that we have idols in our hearts. John Calvin, based on that passage, said the human heart is an idol factory. Part of our corruption as fallen human beings is not that we are atheistic or a-religious. We are naturally religious. We are worshipers by nature. We’ll see this later in Romans 1. We just want religion, and God, on our own terms – and so we must deny and push away God’s revelation in Christ.

Why does Paul aim to establish his credentials – before the 1st century church of Rome, and before us as the 21st century church?  So that we would understand that he speaks for God; that as a result, we would be turned from our idols – our self-defined, self-made false religions – to serve the living and true God. That’s what Paul commended the Thessalonian church for, in his first letter to them: they responded to the word of the apostle, and as a result turned from idols to serve the living and true God. He commends them in this way: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (chapter 2, verse 13). The Word of the Gospel comes and smashes our idols into dust.

Does this word of the apostle, the very Word of God, the very Gospel of God, order every aspect of your thinking about God and His world; of your life under Christ the Lord; of your worship of the Triune God? Have you been fully turned away by God’s Word from all your idols, to serve the living and true God?

You know, we are recovering idolaters. Even as Christians, we still have a sinful impulse to substitute our own ideas of God, our own ideas of worship, our own ideas of spirituality for what God has revealed in His Word, in His Gospel. We do religion by intuition. And so we have a tendency to take God's Word, and our own ideas, and mix them together in the religious blender of our hearts.  But the Gospel is always counter-intuitive – and therefore, corrective of our misleading intuitions. As we go through the book of Romans in the coming months, let the authoritative apostolic Word, the Gospel of God, expose the remaining idols of your heart – and provoke an ever-deepening love for the Christ who has saved you – or will yet save you – from your foolish, self-destructive autonomy and idolatry.

We’ve considered the credentials of this apostolic message, and why they’re still important to us. Next, let’s consider the source of this apostolic message. And why it’s essential if we’re to understand what the Word of God is all about. Let’s look at v 2.

“…the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” In our culture, we often look for the next “new thing.” If you’re a techno-geek, maybe you’re always looking for the newest gadget. But Paul wants to establish the fact that the Gospel is not an entirely new thing. It has an ancient source. It is rooted in the ancient promise of God, through His prophets, in the Holy Scriptures; that is, the prophetic Word written.

Paul wants to establish that the Gospel he preaches has an authoritative source – namely, what we now call the Old Testament. We need to see the continuity of the Gospel – that it came in promise form in the Old Testament, and is now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is organically connected to the Old Testament.

When Paul says “the prophets” here, is he speaking only of those writing prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, etc.? I don’t think so. Paul apparently views the entire Old Testament revelation as prophetic. At the end of Romans, he declares in praise to God an amplification of what he writes here in verse 2: “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations…” (16, vv 25-26).

In so many ways, this is a remarkable passage. And I think it sheds light here on v 2. Paul says that his preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the mystery kept secret. It is now a clear revelation, now made known to all nations. How? By the prophetic Scriptures – that is, the Old Testament! Paul, the Spirit-inspired, Christ-authorized interpreter of those prophetic Scriptures proclaims Christ from them. He shows how the Gospel of Christ fulfills all the promised expectations of the Old Testament – the prophetic expectations, and the covenant expectations.

If you will allow an extended metaphor: This Gospel came in seed form to Adam & Eve in Genesis 3:15; the shoot from that seed was received by Noah; the moist, green stalk – full of life – came to Abraham; it matured and grew under Moses, deepening its roots; it budded for David; and now the sweet fragrant flower of the Gospel has come through Christ. And will yet become the sweet fruit of glory when He returns. According to Paul, the Bible is one book, with one message.

So the source of this apostolic message of the Gospel is the Old Testament – where the Gospel came in the form of promise. And with the coming of Christ, it has now come in fulfillment. But why is this essential for understanding what the Bible is all about?

As you know, one common objection against the Bible is that it’s “full of contradictions.” Another related one is that it’s open to many interpretations. Paul, I think, would either laugh or scratch his head at such objections. He would then go on to prove from the Old Testament Scriptures that those objections are baseless.

The Old Testament is a book of great expectations.  The New Testament is a book of the glorious fulfillment of those great expectations in Jesus Christ. And the New Testament authoritatively and infallibly interprets the Old Testament. I think we run into the problem of apparent contradictions or multiple interpretations when we fail to understand how the apostolic Word of the New Testament interprets the Old. When we fail to see, as Augustine said, that the “new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed.” We are not free to interpret the OT independently of the apostolic interpretation provided in the NT. Now the Gospel of Christ is a rich and full message. It takes two testaments, 66 books, and some 40 writers to unfold that message. But the big picture is clear:  God has spoken through His Son in order to save us.

If you want a big idea of what the Bible is all about, it’s just that: God has spoken through His Son in order to save us. His Word reveals His judgment against our rebellion; and the rescue He has provided in Jesus Christ. The OT proclaims that promise; and the NT proclaims that promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As you encounter those objections, about the Bible being contradictory, or open to many interpretations – be clear that the Bible is clear in that one, unifying message: God has spoken through His Son in order to save us; His Word reveals His judgment against our rebellion, and the good news of the rescue He has provided, for all who would believe in Jesus Christ.

And you are called to continually embrace that Gospel by faith – not just once and done, but that the life you would live in the flesh you would live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you, as Paul says in Galatians 2:20. And to let His Word of grace dwell in you richly, and continually nourish your faith – from Genesis to Revelation; that you would see and savor your glorious Redeemer, Jesus Christ, on every page. That you would embrace the apostles’ authoritative Word – and let the New Testament show you how the glory of Christ dawns in Genesis, and rises with ever-increasing glory until in Rev 22, it is the very light of the New Jerusalem, in a new heaven and a new earth.